Braves in spot to lower broom on Cubs

But San Diego became the first with a 7-0 record this season. Now it appears lightning might strike twice.

Atlanta edged the Cubs 2-1 on Sunday at Turner Field for its sixth straight win in the series. The Braves will finish with a season sweep if they win the series finale on Monday.

The Cubs went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position on Sunday, making Juan Mateo a tough-luck loser against Lance Cormier. They struck out 15 times without drawing a walk and have gone 15 innings without a walk since Derrek Lee's third-inning at-bat Saturday.

"We feel bad [for Mateo]," Freddie Bynum said. "But, hey, that's baseball. Just go out and try to do the same thing the next day."

Actually, the Cubs may want to try something different on Monday.

They're now 56-87 with 18 losses in their last 21 games, including nine straight on the road. The last time the Cubs lost 10 straight road games was Sept. 13-30, 2000, in their first year under Don Baylor.

The Cubs came in 0-5 against Atlanta with a 6.60 ERA and 14 home runs allowed in the last three meetings. But Mateo (1-3) threw six strong innings, allowing two runs on five hits before being pulled after 97 pitches trailing 2-1.

After Bynum's solo homer off Cormier (3-4) tied it 1-1 in the sixth, the Braves went ahead in the bottom of the inning on back-to-back two-out doubles by Adam LaRoche and Brian McCann.

Mateo's performance was one of the better rookie outings, and manager Dusty Baker said he was "a young man who's probably showed the most." Rookies have made 46 percent of the Cubs' starts this year and are a combined 15-30 with a 5.87 ERA in 66 starts.

"They're kids," pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. "They're guys who are coming up in a situation where they're still learning, so there's going to be good and bad. You just have to keep working on it, and eventually they'll get over the humpsome of them. It's not going to be everybody. Some of them are going to be good major-league pitchers. It's just going to take some time."

Rothschild managed an expansion team in Tampa Bay, and that staff was even more experienced than this Cubs staff.

"By far," he said. "You just keep working every day and try to get better and better. In the long run, it pays off. In the short run, it may not be the best thing to watch. Hopefully it pays off, and they get better in the end."